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Friday, June 30, 2017

SPIDRE Team To Be Out In Force This July 4th Holiday

Team Effort Results In 2,300 DUI Arrests In Past Four Years

(Jessup, MD) – With the July 4th holiday quickly approaching, the Maryland State Police and other police agencies across Maryland will be out in force removing impaired drivers from the highways. For the fourth straight year, the State Police Impaired DRiving Effort (SPIDRE) team will continue its goal to make Maryland’s roads safer during the July 4th holiday. The SPIDRE team has made nearly 2,300 DUI arrests over the past four years.

Impaired driving is the cause of more than 170 traffic deaths each year, roughly one-third of traffic fatalities in Maryland. On average, more than 7,400 crashes involve an impaired driver occur on Maryland’s roads each year. The SPIDRE Team is a series of data-driven, highly focused patrols dedicated to removing impaired drivers from Maryland’s roadways.

The Special Revenue Generation and Enhancement Team (SRGET) will be out in force this weekend? That is a relief. That means that we can speed all that we want during the day since all of the State Police will be working at night this weekend.

For the mathematically challenged who simply accept the State Police numbers at face value, let's look a little closer. So, 2,300 DUI arrests over 4 years. That is 575 arrests per year...or...1.5 arrests per day. Not very impressive for a team of 6-8 people who's sole focus in DUI enforcement EACH AND EVERY NIGHT. They do no other enforcement and have no other responsibilities than DUI enforcement. They do not handle calls for service or any other investigations. Troopers at the Barrack could certainly lock up ONE DUI every night if they didn't have all the other duties and responsibilities. Or, if they had more manpower and were not working entire shifts covering the whole county with just TWO Troopers. The SPIDRE Team is nowhere near as effective as the State Police want you to believe. But, MSP Command has to tout something because they are becoming irrelevant and have lost touch with what it means to effectively police. They try to be all things to all people and no longer know their mission or do ANYTHING well. It is one big circle jerk of kissing butt to get ahead instead of serving the public.

I really wish they would focus on tailgaters and other traffic offenses that are not the money generating speeding tickets. They can nab all the unreasonable speeders all they want, but tailgaters and others are just as dangerous if not more so.

I had a white pickup tailgating me today on de 54/md353. I was waiting for him to follow me across the MD line and I was going to call the cops and report him but lucky for him he turned on 54 and headed towards Delmar.

If I can't see his front tires he is following too close. Likewise, if you can't see someone's rear tires you are following too close, and at night, if your headlights hit a vehicle in front of you, you are following too close.

If the person in front of you has to jump on his brakes suddenly, guess what? There is a good chance you will rear-end it, and if anyone is tailgating behind you? Chain reaction.